How Lucky We Are
by Kristen3
Summary: An adult Richie returns for a long-overdue visit to his parents' house. A few old mementos lead to a trip down memory lane. Rob and Laura's love goes deeper than Richie ever suspected. One-shot.


**Author's Note: **It's amazing what can happen just from seeing a rerun you've seen a thousand times! :) I think this story made me fall in love w/ Rob & Laura all over again! Many thanks to Leigh Ann (**leighann415**) for offering a helpful suggestion. Please do R&R!

Richie smiled as he walked up to the familiar front door of his childhood home. It had been far too long since he'd come back here. Life had taken him far from New Rochelle. It wasn't a hard choice when it came time to pick a career. There was nothing he'd wanted to do more than follow in his dad's footsteps and work in TV. Luckily, having a father who'd worked for Alan Brady opened a few doors, and he quickly found himself directing a few sitcoms. He hadn't exactly had a hit yet, but he had been working steadily.

That's what had kept him away from his family. The last few times he'd talked to his parents on the phone, his mother had hinted, not too subtly, that it was high time he visited them. But Richie had decided not to let them know he was coming. As he rang the doorbell, he could hardly wait to see the looks on their faces.

Inside the house, Rob heard the sound. "Are we expecting company?"

Laura shook her head. "Not that I know of. But maybe Millie forgot something when she was here this afternoon. Go let her in." She and Rob had come to the conclusion that their closets were full of a lot of old junk that could be thrown away. They'd been going through boxes for two hours now, but hadn't made much of a dent.

"OK," Rob said, getting up. He wasn't as energetic as he used to be. That thought made him sigh in frustration, though he knew there was nothing he could do about it. As he walked to the door, Rob hoped that whoever was there was worth all this effort. But when he opened the door, that thought vanished in a second. "Rich!"

"Hi, Dad," Richie said, hugging his father tightly. "Mom sort of suggested I owed you guys a visit, so here I am. I know I should've called first, but I kind of wanted to surprise you."

Laura looked up in amazement as she saw her son enter the living room. She was on her feet in an instant, going over to hug and kiss him. "I can't believe this." She found that she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Well, believe it," Richie said, smiling at the stunned expression she wore. "It's me." He'd only just walked in the door, but already he was glad to be back. It really had been too long. Richie looked around the room, noting that although it had been several years, not much had changed. Then he caught sight of the boxes on the floor. "Are you guys moving or something?"

Laura laughed, still in disbelief that he was here. "No, it's just that your father and I have decided we have too much _stuff_. It's time to get rid of all the junk we don't need."

Rob rolled his eyes. "Don't let your mother kid you. Most of this stuff is hers, and she won't let me throw it away!"

"Well, maybe I can help," Richie said, bending down. This wasn't at all what he'd pictured doing when he came here, but it didn't matter. All he really wanted was to see his parents.

"You came here for a visit, we shouldn't put you to work!" Rob laughed, putting a hand on his son's back. "But we sure could use the help, as you can see."

"OK," Richie said with a laugh. "Let's see what's in here." He began sifting through a pile of pictures. Most were of his parents, at various points in their history. There were some pictures of him. Laura stood behind her son, looking at the photographs he'd found. She suddenly grabbed one out of his hand.

"Look, Rob, here's Richie when we first brought him home from the hospital!"

Rob saw the photo she held up. Immediately, he was flooded with memories. "Boy, I'll never forget that."

"I just couldn't believe I was finally a mother," Laura said, remembering those days.

"Well, you might've been happy, but I sure wasn't," Rob replied.

"Gee, thanks, Dad," Richie said in mock anger.

"Oh, no, son. It had nothing to do with you. It's just that I was convinced you weren't ours."

"What?" Richie asked, looking at his father in surprise.

"Oh, Richie, don't tell me you've forgotten about that," Laura said, grinning. "For two days, your father and Jerry went nuts, trying to figure out if the hospital gave us the wrong baby. They even tried to take your footprint to match it with the hospital records. I remember seeing the ink on your little foot."

"Oh, right," Richie said. "I'm glad you finally realized I belong here."

"I felt awfully foolish when the Peters finally came over. Maybe that wasn't my best moment." Even now, Rob felt a twinge of embarrassment, but he'd begun to see the humor in the situation long ago.

"I'd say that was definitely not your proudest moment," Laura agreed.

Richie continued going through the papers in the box. Mostly just more old photographs. But one thing did make him curious. "Dad, what's this old magazine?" He held it up for his father's inspection. The headline read: _Alan Brady's Secret Revealed – He's Bald!_

Laura took the magazine from her son. "See, Rob, I've had a few memorable mistakes, too."

Rob cringed, remembering how scared he'd been when Laura accidentally blurted the secret out. "I was sure Alan was going to fire me – if not kill me!"

Richie thought back, trying to recall the details of the incident. "You blew Alan's secret, right, Mom? I remember seeing you on that stupid game show. I couldn't believe it!"

"Well, I was so young, and that awful host tricked me!" Even now, Laura felt the need to defend herself. "I couldn't bear the thought of your father getting in trouble because of me, so I went to see Alan myself."

Richie's eyes widened. He was sure he'd never heard this part of the story! "What?!"

"It's true, Rich," Rob said. "Sally told me she was in the building, and when she didn't come up to our office, it wasn't hard to know where she was going. I went rushing in to save her, but she really didn't need it. Alan actually forgave her."

"Wow," Richie said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That sure doesn't sound like the Alan I remember."

"Well, it happened," Rob said, walking over to Laura. "I saw it with my own eyes. I don't think I ever loved your mother more." He kissed her for a long moment.

Slightly embarrassed, Richie turned his attention to the box once again.

"I didn't really care so much what Alan did to me, as long as he didn't fire you." Laura smiled, still as smitten with Rob as she'd been back when they were dating.

"You know, my friends never really believed me when I told them how you guys were. Everyone else's parents fought!" Richie said, barely even realizing he'd spoken aloud.

"Oh, Richie, we've fought a few times. We just did it when you weren't around," Rob said. "We're not perfect."

"You seemed pretty perfect to me!"

"Your father's right," Laura said, still gazing up at him. "Remember that trip to Mexico?"

"How could I forget? We got into an argument that was so bad we almost got a divorce."

"What?!" Richie didn't even try to lower his voice or hide his shock.

"It was way before you were born," Rob explained. "We'd just gotten married, and we took a trip to this small town in Mexico, where they specialize in divorces. We were fighting about something stupid, and a man at the hotel gave us divorce papers."

Laura saw the absolute surprise that was still evident on her son's face. "We still have the papers here….somewhere. But we've never used them. We've never really wanted to."

Rob kissed her again. "Even with all the ups and downs, you're still the only girl I'd ever want to be married to."

Laura could feel tears forming in her eyes. She tried to speak, but it was impossible to get the words out. The kiss she gave Rob told him all he needed to know.

Richie watched them, not sure what to think. As a kid, he'd always assumed most parents acted this way. Now, as a man, he realized this was very rare indeed. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he walked over to his mother and father. Without a word, he hugged them each tightly. It wasn't just that they were a lucky couple. Richie knew he was lucky to be their son.

**The End**


End file.
